More than 90 per cent of households connected to internet

The vast majority of Irish homes are now connected to the internet either through fixed line or mobile broadband although the number who have never been online remains significant.

According to latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) almost 80 per cent of people use the internet every day. But 11 per cent say they have never accessed the internet.

The research shows that 91 per cent of households are connected to the internet, up 2 per cent over the last 12 months with 79 per cent of those saying they go online every day and 58 per cent saying they do so several times a day.

Looking up information on goods and services and sending and receiving emails are the most common internet activities. The next most common activities are instant messaging, accessing news and internet banking.

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The research suggests that clothes and sports goods are the most commonly bought items online with more than half of those who use the internet saying they have bought such products. This is followed by holiday accommodation on 47 per cent and other travel arrangements on 45 per cent.

The research body's latest Information Society Statistics show that fixed broadband is the most common type of household internet access at 84 per cent while 47 per cent of people are using mobile broadband.

Use of cloud computing to save files such as pictures, music, videos and documents, is on the increase, with 53 per cent of internet users with remote storage in 2019, an increase of four percentage points on 2018.

Smart technology specific to the home which sees people use the internet to interact with household equipment or appliances that are connected to the internet, such as control of heating, lighting, security systems and household appliances is the emerging technology.

The survey suggests 12 per cent of internet users now use such technologies.

People were also asked about security-related incidents that they experienced through using the internet with 15 per cent saying they had been targeted in so-called phishing scams. Online identity theft was experienced by 2 per cent of internet users.

As many as 6 per cent of those questioned said they had lost money as a result of a scam. Another worry was the finding that of those surveyed, 9 per cent found that their children had accessed inappropriate websites.